>>motivation for the expedition had its genesis in the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks<< The motivation is the end of Reconquista, which did not like the idea of its own end at all - leading to more reconquistas and to the "The kingdom where the sun does not set down" etc.
Just a small, sad, but fair & objective point: I got all this and much of what I wrote here, from reading for years. Means just that I've read a lot and (to top it ;) I tried but could not (g) forget it. Nothing original in all those sentences though. Originals were better, if I remember correctly.
Here's a hypothesis for Jay - its 22:00 in Europe so in few hours Jay will have his morning tee and start reading (g) -.
Han civilization became, what it was and now is, on the basis/because of possibility for/ its sedentary, keep-to-one-place, Abel-kind-of farming character. All that thanks to the father of all rivers.
The north being arid and dry could and still can support nomadic, Kain-like societies. If I look at what Mongols achieved in their sports category (ie riding - were it not for the plague, I guess only Atlantic would be able to stop them), it is no wonder that they ventured the other, eastern direction as well.
Compare the situation to Mesopothamy vs Abraham and his nomadic family. In this sense whoever labels Chinese as Jews of Asia... It's similar but different, as I already indicated once. Jews would never send out ships to check out the world the other side of horizon and then, when they would come back, yawn and go back to daily business.
dj |
